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September 20, 2016
From: The Federation of Connecticut Taxpayer
Organizations
Contact: Susan Kniep, President
Website: http://ctact.org/
Email: fctopresident@aol.com
Telephone: 860-841-8032
CONNECTICUT TAXPAYERS:
A Fiscal Tsunami is about to
Descend Upon our
State as 14 State Labor Union
Contracts Expire!
$$$$$$$
It is no longer acceptable
for our State Legislators to allow these union contracts to be negotiated in
secrecy behind closed doors, then hand taxpayers the bill!
In
Fiscal Yr 2015, 78,227 State employees received $6.3 Billion in Wages and
Benefits
In
Calendar Yr 2015, 50,563 State retirees collected $1.7 Billion.
The
highest paid was $297,614
Below is
a step by step process to access the salaries and pensions of State employees
and retirees.
Click the following to view the contracts
*************************
In January of this year, we learned GE Moving Headquarters
To Boston - Hartford Courant.
Recently the Courant announced that the Rogers Corp. Moving Headquarters After
184 Years In Connecticut, as
Patch.com announced Optimum to Close Stratford, Shelton
Facilities; Lay Off 600 Employees.
On May 23rd of this year, Rex Sinquefield wrote an article in Forbes captioned 25 Years, $13 Billion Lost: Connecticut
Income Tax Continues To Fail
The following is an excerpt from Mr. Sinquefields
article, and I quote: Just last week, the state General Assembly passed
another budget that cuts services while
continuing to spend more money. (The
budget is so ill-conceived that it prompted credit
downgrades from Fitch and Standard
& Poor.) Anyone with a passing knowledge of Connecticut fiscal woes knows this is just
the latest in a long line of bad decisions made by the states leadership. Connecticuts irresponsible spending makes it an unappealing
place for many families and businesses, and high taxes
prompt alarming levels of outward migration. According to an analysis by The
Yankee Institute for Public Policy, Connecticuts outmigration causes the state to lose $60 of
income every single second.
Continue reading the article by Mr. Sinquefield at http://www.forbes.com/sites/rexsinquefield/2016/05/23/25-years-13-billion-lost-connecticut-income-tax-continues-to-fail/#58cccff1b80a
With State employee salaries and benefits already accounting
for more than one-third of the state budget, any increase in salaries and
benefits in any or all of these 14 contracts could put Connecticut well over the fiscal
cliff.
A report issued by the American Enterprise Institute for
Public Policy Research captioned Overpaid or underpaid? A state-by-state
ranking of public-employee compensation includes the following excerpts:
- Connecticut pays its state employees 42 percent
more than what similar private sector workers receive;
- Connecticut state retiree health benefits are
equivalent to receiving an additional 18 percent of wages every year of
the employees working life;
- Connecticut, which is the highest paid
state with a paid compensation premium of 42 percent, increases its total
premium to 55 percent when its 9.6 percent job security premium is
included;
- The best paid state (Connecticut)
pays its employees approximately $1.50 in total wages and benefits for each
dollar that the lowest paid state (Virginia)
pays.
You can learn much more from this report at web link https://www.aei.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/-biggs-overpaid-or-underpaid-a-statebystate-ranking-of-public-employee-compensation_112536583046.pdf.
This year is not only a Presidential election year, but one
in which our State legislators will be on the ballot. It is now time to
hold our legislators and their opponents accountable. Determine what both
candidates plan to do to correct the fiscal problems of our State. And
most importantly, will they support opening contract negotiations to the
public. To find your state rep click on Connecticut Legislators, State Senators
and Representatives - CBIA
Because it is apparent that our state elected officials have
lost all ability to manage our state and its costs. Those tools now rest
with the state employee unions through their legally binding contracts.
To support that assertion let us reflect on the fact that Governor Malloy was
forced to impose layoffs, close needed facilities such as courts, facilities for
the disabled and more because of the unions refusal to reopen their contract
for health and pension benefits.
Now keep in mind that that contract does not expire until
the year 2022. CTNewsJunkie.com recently reported the following-AFSCME Council
4 reminded its members in a monthly newsletter the following: Keep in
mind that your fringe benefits remain in effect and fully protected, thanks to
the SEBAC health and pension agreement that runs through 2022.
So as you read this statement you are right to conclude that
state union officials worked hard for their union members. You would also
be correct to conclude that the majority of your state legislators failed to
protect the interests of the State and its taxpayers who remain at risk for the
next 6 years due to the costs associated with these lucrative pension and
healthcare benefits our State employees enjoy.
Also, let us not forget the benefit given by our Governor
and Democrat State Legislators in July, 2015 to the
retired teachers which kicked in this year. CTMirror.org wrote in 2015
the following: When retired teachers still living in Connecticut file their income tax returns
next spring (that would be this year), 10 percent of their pensions will be
exempted, saving them an estimated $11.8 million. That
exemption is slated to grow to 25 percent one year later, and then to 50
percent two years from now. The rest of the tax breaks-which Republican
legislators have charged were election-year stunts to help the Democratic
governor and the legislatures Democratic majority stay
in power-went by the wayside.
But the most important question is who is going to make up
the estimated $11.8 million and the millions which follow in subsequent years? The
answer is obvious-the Taxpayer!
Also keep in mind when those state retiree benefits were
being negotiated you were not in the room. Neither was the press to keep
you informed.
For years, the State legislature has allowed public sector
union contracts to be negotiated in secrecy, behind closed doors.
Through quid-pro-quo politics, state and local officials
have consistently increased salaries, pensions and healthcare benefits for
public sector unions. In return the unions have supported these elected
officials at the polls. You, on the other hand, are kept in the dark
until the bill is due at which time it will be given to you to pay.
Paying the bill which comes in the form of a tax is not an
option. You Will Pay the Bill!!!! Or you will suffer the
consequences. That could come in the form of a tax lien sale on the local
level as you are literally taxed out of your home for failure to pay your
property tax.
But we are also awaiting the outcome of a court case which
could also have ramifications in the future for taxpayers. That case is
noted within the Hartford Courant article
captioned Ex-Medical Examiner Sues State, Calling
$135,000 Pension Too Low. As
Jon Lender of the Courant notes: But the recipient of those benefits-former
chief state medical examiner H. Wayne Carver II, 64, one of the highest-profile
public officials, whose top salary was more than $300,000-is suing the state.
Carver claims he was shortchanged and should be getting tens of thousands of
dollars more a year under the states long-established retirement formula.
To learn more about the status of this case click on HHD-CV-16-6066636-S,
CARVER, II, HAROLD WAYNE v. LEMBO, KEVIN. Here you will also find
the COMPLAINT as well as the
various motions.
On the State level here is the DRS: Top 100 Delinquent Accounts -
CT.gov
However, who pays and who does not could remain a mystery as
highlighted within the December, 2013 Hartford Courant editorial captioned No Secrecy For Connecticut Tax Evaders
- Collections - Hartford Courant.
The editorial noted the following: When the state stops
trying to collect back taxes, officials can't say who the debtors are or why
the efforts stopped; that needs to change. In the past three years, Connecticut has stopped
trying to collect more than $213 million in old tax debt. Exactly who these tax
dodgers are remains a secret, and that should outrage taxpayers. Continue reading at http://articles.courant.com/2013-12-20/news/hc-ed-tax-scofflaws-get-shielded-20131220_1_biggest-tax-delinquents-tax-dodgers-debtors.
Is there a solution to our problem? Sure there is once
you have defined the problem. And it is obvious, more so now than ever,
what the problem is - STATE MANDATES!
STATE COLLECTIVE BARGAINING
AND BINDING ARBITRATION LAWS HAVE MADE STATE AND LOCAL PUBLIC SECTOR UNIONS
MORE POWERFUL THAN THE ELECTED OFFICIALS YOU PUT IN OFFICE!
Although we may not be able
to eliminate or reform these laws overnight, we can and must immediately
Remove the Negotiations of
State and Local Public Sector Union Contracts from Behind the Closed Doors of
Secrecy and Thrust them into the Light of Public Debate!
And this certainly includes
the 14 State Union Contracts which expire this year.
To view the pensions of all State employees, click Pensions, next click Search, next go to the last column headed Total
and click twice to view the highest to the lowest pensions being
paid. So how does your pension compare? Or will you even get
one!
To view the wages and benefits of all State employees, click
Employee Compensation,
next click Advanced Search, next click on All Agencies and click Search. Then
go over to the last Column, headed Total. Click it on twice and you will
see the highest to the lowest paid. You can move to the next column by
clicking the arrow above the heading. Need help? Call 860-841-8032
or write to fctopresident@aol.com
***************************
STATE DEBT
$71 BILLION DOLLARS
As noted within the States latest
[PDF]Fiscal Accountability Report - Connecticut General Assembly
The majority of state debt is due to
lucrative pension and healthcare benefits promised by legally binding contracts
to public employees as noted below in red.
And Taxpayers Are Forced to Pay the
Bill!!!!
|
STATE
OF CT LONG
TERM DEBT OBLIGATIONS IN BILLIONS
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Unfunded Liabilities
|
Nov. 2014
|
Nov. 2015
|
Difference
|
|
Debt Outstanding
|
$21.3
|
$22.8
|
$1.5
|
|
State Employee Retirement System (SERS)
|
13.3
|
14.9
|
1.6
|
|
Teachers Retirement System
|
10.8
|
10.8
|
0
|
|
State Post Employment Health and Life
|
19.5
|
19.5
|
0
|
|
Teachers Post Employment Health
|
2.4
|
2.4
|
0
|
|
Generally Accepted Accounting Principles Deficit
|
1.1
|
0.7
|
-0.4
|
|
TOTAL
|
$68.4 BILLION
|
$71.1
BILLION
|
$2.7 BILLION
|
- State projects $259 million deficit
for year that ends June 30
- Connecticut
budget reserve funds below average, Moody says
- Connecticut,
the wealthiest U.S. state, is cash poor.
The home to hedge funds, insurers and United
Technologies Corp. said this month it faces a $259 million general-fund deficit
in the year ending June 30, almost double what it forecast in late April, after
the August stock market crash caused income-tax collections to trail forecasts.
With little room to maneuver, state officials, credit rating companies and bond
investors predict Connecticut
will have to dip into its $406 million rainy-day fund for the second year in a
row. Continue reading at http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-05-10/connecticut-s-fiscal-forecast-is-more-rainy-days-as-revenue-lags
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Connecticut
has one of the best Transparency Websites in the Nation as noted within
Check it out at
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